vocabulary mastery toward writing ability

Iful Rahmawati Mega

121 SCIENTIA, VOL.3, NO. 2, DESEMBER 2018

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STUDENTS’ ENGLISH INTEREST AND

VOCABULARY MASTERY TOWARD WRITING ABILITY

Iful Rahmawati Mega, M.Pd

[email protected]

STKIP Muhammadiyah Bangka Belitung

ABSTRACT

Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kuantitatif dengan jenis korelasi ganda. Penelitian ini

dilaksanakan bertujuan untuk mengetahui seberapa jauh hubungan antara penguasaan

kosakata Bahasa Inggris, dan minat Bahasa Inggris terhadap kemampuan menulis Bahasa

Inggris mahasiswa Program TOEFL dari Mahasiswa PGSD STKIP Muhammadiyah Bangka

Belitung, baik secara parsial dan kesinambungan. Dalam penelitian ini menggunakan dua

jenis tes sebagai teknik pengumpulan data yaitu tes pilihan ganda untuk mengambil data

vocabulary, tes essay untuk mengambil data kemampuan menulis, serta menggunakan angket

untuk mengumpulkan data minat Bahasa Inggris mahasiswa. Populasi dari penelitian ini

adalah seluruh mahasiswa yang mengikuti Program Kelas TOEFL, dengan diambil 30

mahasiswa secara random sebagai sampel penelitian. Teknik pengolahan data dari penelitian

ini menggunakan analisis single dan multiple korelasi dan regresi. Hasi akhir dari penelitian

ini menunjukkan adanya hubungan positif antara penguasaan kosakata Bahasa Inggris, dan

minat Bahasa Inggris terhadap Kemampuan Menulis Bahasa Inggris mahasiswa Program

TOEFL dari Mahasiswa PGSD STKIP Muhammadiyah Bangka Belitung, baik secara parsial

dan kesinambungan. Hubungan positif ini menunjukkan bahwa penguasaan kosakata Bahasa

Inggris dan minat Bahasa Inggris cenderung naik dan turun bersamaan dengan kemampuan

menulis Bahasa Inggris.

Keywords: Penguasaan Kosakata, Minat Bahasa Inggris, Kemampuan Menulis

mailto:[email protected]

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INTRODUCTION

Writing is an important skill in everyday life. It is needed when we are continuing our

study to the higher level or when we are graduated from school and apply for a job. An

application letter for the job plays an important role to consider. The diction one uses and the

ability to convey message hold its own consideration. Although one is the smartest person in

reading, without ability to write, he may be the second best person compared with the one

that has good writing ability. It is also needed in the work to write reports, researches, and

many other practical tasks.

Brown (2004: 218) states that today the ability to write has become an indispensable

skill in our global literate community. In the same page, Brown also adds that in the field of

second language teaching, only a half-century ago experts were saying that writing was

primarily a convention for recording speech and for reinforcing grammatical and lexical

features of language. From Brown‘s statements, it can be said that writing skill is a unique

skill that has its own features and conventions to convey the meaning.

Compared with the three other language skills (listening, speaking, and reading),

writing is considered the most difficult skill for some students. According to Bayle cited in

Foo, et al (2012: 6), writing for Foreign Language students is considered to be the most

complex and difficult to master and as rule, it is more complex than writing one‘s native

language. Some problem that people faced in writing is about the vocabulary and tenses. In

line with Cahyani and Hodijah (2007: 10) ―keterampilan menulis merupakan keterampilan

yang paling rumit karena menulis bukanlah sekadar menyalin kata-kata dan kalimat-kalimat,

melainkan juga mengembangkan dan mengungkapkan pikiran-pikiran dalam suatu tulisan

yang teratur”, means that writing is the most complex skill because writing is not only

copying words or sentences, but also developing and expressing ideas in proper writing. The

students got difficulty in vocabulary especially on how to identify meaning, how to use the

vocabulary based on the context, how to distinguish the right tenses in constructing sentences

and how to arrange sentences into a good paragraph.

To create a good writing, students have to be more careful in many aspects, such as:

careful construction, precise and varied vocabulary, correct spelling and punctuation, correct

expression, acceptable grammar, and good paragraph development. According to Tarigan

(2008: 22-23) “belajar menulis adalah belajar berpikir mendalam (berpikir kritis) dengan

cara penemuan/pengalaman, penyusunan urutan pengalaman, dan ketepatan pemilihan

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kata”, it means that, learning writing is learning to think critically with identifying

experiences, arranging experiences, and the accuracy of selecting vocabulary. As stated this,

vocabulary is one of the important aspect that influence writing. What a student needs to have

the first time when he wants to write is vocabulary. Limited vocabulary will block them to

convey the meaning. Lack of vocabulary also makes students confused and sometimes makes

them misinterpret the meaning. Cameron in Widyastuti (2012: 2) believes that vocabulary

acquisition and learning is essential for development in both oral and written language.

Vocabulary is one of the most obvious components of language and one of the first things

applied linguists turned their attention to (Jack Richard, 2001: 4). It implies that learning

language cannot be separated from learning vocabulary.

Because learning language cannot be separated from learning vocabulary, vocabulary

is the key of the successful people learn the language. Without a sufficient vocabulary,

language learning process will be faced difficulty. It will make students unable to use the

structure and functions they have learned for communication. Vocabulary mastery holds great

contribution in communication. The most important thing in communication is that the

meaning of the message can be conveyed clearly. If the meaning of the message cannot be

understood, it can be said that there is no communication. The great role of vocabulary

mastery in communication is depicted by Wilkins in Thornburry (2002:13) believes that

without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed. It

will be clear, then, that vocabulary mastery is a crucial aspect to deliver ideas or convey

messages in writing.

Another factor that influence writing ability is from the individual aspect, it is

students‘ psychology. In doing something, a person will be satisfied if it is from the

awareness of himself or herself than it is a force from the others, because the self-awareness

is one of internal factors which can influence one‘s success. The factor which is meant is

interest of learning. In this case is interest of English learning. When students have self-

awareneess in English learning, they will be happy and interested to learn English subject, if

they are happy and interested in it, they will study happily and always try to arrange good

writing. From this review of the explanation above, it is expected that all of these aspects are

influenced each other. The good writing ability is determined by vocabulary aspect and also

students‘ English interest.

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THEORETICAL REVIEW

Hedge (1998: 5) stresses that compared with speech, effective writing requires a number of

things: a high degree of organization in the development of ideas and information; a high

degree of accuracy so that there is no ambiguity of meaning; the use of complex grammatical

devices for focus and emphasis; and a careful choice of vocabulary, grammatical patterns,

and sentence structures to create a style which is appropriate to the subject matter and the

eventual readers. In addition, Nunan (1998: 6) says that writing involves mastering of the

mechanics of letter formation and obeying convention of spelling and punctuation; using

grammatical system to convey one‘s intended meaning; organizing content at the level of the

paragraph and the complete text to reflect given/new information. In line with Harris (1993:

11) believes that some of the decisions that have to be made in the course of writing are

concerned with the interrelationships between ideas or propositions; some are concerned with

revealing as precisely as possible the nature of certain experiences – giving them, in fact, a

shape; others are to do with the selecting and ordering of ideas, information, or experiences.

From explanation above it can be concluded that writing involves a high organization in

developing ideas and information, no ambiguity of meaning, use complex grammar, and

choice the proper vocabulary.

In writing, there are some micro-skills and macro-skills that should be mastered by

the students. Brown (2004: 221) states that the micro-skills and macro-skills of writing are as

follows:

Micro-skills:

1. Produce graphemes and orthographic patterns of English

2. Produce writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose

3. Produce an acceptable core of words and use appropriate word order patterns

4. Use acceptable grammatical systems (e.g., tense, agreement, pluralization), patterns, and

rules

5. Express a particular meaning in different grammatical forms

6. Use cohesive devices in written discourse

and for Macro-skills:

7. Use the rhetorical forms and conventions of written discourse

8. Appropriately accomplish the communicative functions of written texts according to

form and purpose

9. Convey links and connections between events, and communication such relations as

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main idea, supporting idea, new information, given information, generalization, and

exemplification

10. Distinguish between literal and implied meanings when writing

11. Correctly convey culturally specific references in the context of the written text

12. Develop and use a battery of writing strategies, such as accurately assessing the

audience‘s interpretation, using prewriting devices, writing with fluency in the first

drafts, using paraphrases and synonyms, soliciting peer and instructor feedback, and

using feedback for revising and editing.

As from explanation above, writing is about macro and micro skill that process of

gathering and ordering ideas or information, forming into visible letter in a conventional

manner includes grammar, vocabulary, organization, and mechanics as a means for

communication.

To arrange a good writing it needs some process, Linse (2006: 105) states that the

process of writing is often described as consisting of five activities; namely: prewriting,

writing, revising, editing, and publishing.

1. Prewriting

In this prewriting step, the writers must know the purpose in their writing. Firstly, they

have to select the subject that becomes a topic; it is to develop their ideas to give their

first description of what to write. And then, they write the title. Title has to attract

readers‘ attention.

2. Writing

Writing is a procedure for whether the ideas which have been discovered during planning

can be shaped into sucessful writing. The ideas can be rearranged, added to, and edited.

3. Revising

The next step in writing is revising. Revising is the process of seeing again, or

discovering a new division for the writing the students produce during prewriting and

writing. Revising occurs when the writer looks for feedback from a teacher or other

students. Revising should be focus on content and not grammatical or spelling errors.

4. Editing

Editing is used to correct error in grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation.

Sometime the writers have a hard time accepting that editing is necessary.

5. Publishing

Publishing refers to put the writing in a final finishing format where it can be shared with

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other. Publishing can be a great motivator for the writer.

Another supported idea that desribe writing process is defined by Oshima and Hogue

(2006: 265) states that writing as a process of creating, organizing, writing, and polishing.

First, the writers creates their ides, and then organizes it, then it is written into rough draft,

and the last polishes tha rough draft by editing and making revisions. So, from the

explanation above, writing is needed the proper processes to develop the good writing.

To develop successful writing, there are some criteria, these are listed below as Nunan

(1991: 3) stated:

1. Mastering the mechanics of letter formation;

2. Obeying conventions of spelling and punctuation;

3. Using grammatical system to convey one‘s intended meaning

4. Organizing content at the level of the paragraph and the complete text to reflect given

new information;

5. Selecting an appropriate style for one‘s audience

On the other hand, Peha (2002: 3) states in order to create good writing there are some

criteria, as follows:

1. Interesting and important ideas

2. Organization that is logical and effective

3. Voice that is individual and appropriate

4. Word choice that is specific and memorable

5. Sentence fluency that is smooth and expressive

6. Conventions which are correct and communicative

Also, the writer must to pay attention to the cohesion and coherence of the paragraph

to create a good writing, there are:

1. Cohesion

Webster (2006: 348) cohesion is the act or state of sticking together tightly. Similar with

Webster, Yule (2006: 125) defines that cohesion as the ties and connections that exist

within texts. To achieve good cohesion, the link of one sentenceto the next, consider the

following techniques:

a) Repetition

In the second sentence (the second of any two sentences), repeat a word from the

previous sentence.

b) Synonym

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Use the ‗elegant variation‘, means use the synonym of the word that you wish to

repeat.

c) Antonym

One of the idea to create sentence cohesion is using ―opposite‖ word, since

antonyms actually share more elements of menaing than you might imagine.

d) Pro-forms

Use a pronoun, pro-verb, or another pro-form to make explicit reference back to a

form mentioned earlier.

e) Collocation

Use a commonly paired or expected or highly probable word to connect one

sentence to another.

f) Enumeration

Use overt markers of sequence to highlight the connection between ideas. This

system has many advantages: (a) it can link ideas that are otherwise completely

unconnected, (b) it looks formal and distinctive, and (c) it promotes a second

method of sentence cohesion.

g) Parallelism

Repeat a sentence structure. This technique is the oldest, most overlooked, but

probably the most elegant method of creating cohesion.

h) Transitions

Use a conjunction or conjunctive adverb to link sentences with particular logical

relationships.

2. Coherence

Coherence is product of many different factors, which combine to make every paragraph,

every sentence, and every phrase contribute to the meaning of the whole piece. There

must be some other factor that leads us to distinguish connected texts that make sense

from those that do not. This factor is usually described as ‗coherence‘. The key concept

of coherence (‗everything fitting together well‘) is not something that exists in words or

structures, but something that exists in people. Like stated in Yule (2006: 126) that is

people who ‗make sense‘ of what they read and hear.

After define some criteria above, there are five aspects of writing from Hughes (1996:

91) as follows:

1. Grammar, that is an element of writing, that is an element of writing which deals with a

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set of rules to construct sentences that make sense and acceptable in English;

2. Vocabulary, it deals with a list of words and their meanings;

3. Mechanics, that is convention in writing, which is related to punctuation, spelling, and

capitalization;

4. Fluency, which refers to the ease and the style of the composition; and

5. Form or organization that is the logical sequence and cohesion or the flow of the ideas

being put into written language to make unified contribution to the whole paragraph. It is

commonly called as generic structure.

From some criteria above, it can be stated that good writing is define about grammar,

vocabulary, mechanics, fluency, and organization.

To support another review of writing ability, there are three kinds of writing as

defined by Brown (2004: 219) as follows:

1. Academic writing

It is related to academic purposes; like papers, reports, essays, academic journal,

academic article, theses, and dissertations.

2. Job-related wiriting

It is focused on messages, letters, emails, memos, labels, signs, advertisement,

announcement, etc.

3. Personal Writing

It includes personal letters, greeting cards, invitations, shopping list, etc.

On the other hand, it is supported by Buscemi (1999: 78-79) says that there are four

kinds of writing, those are description, narration, explanation, and persuasion. It is described

as follows:

1. Description

It is used to describe a certain object, when the writer wants to give the detail

information.

2. Narration

This writing is used to narrate some series of events as they occur in time and explain

each event or part of an event. Narration writing can be divided into two types, fiction

and non-fiction fiction is about born from the author‘s immagination, as it is entertained

the reader; while non-fiction recounts events that actually occured. It is used by scientists

to inform and to explain natural processes or events.

3. Explanation

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It is also called exposition. It is used to expose new ideas for the readers. It is the most

common method for developing paragraph.

4. Persuasion

This kind is the attempt to convince readers that the writer‘s position on issue is valid.

The main purpose is persuading the readers with the writer‘s idea.

So, there are different kinds in doing writing. It is based on the purpose. In this

research, it is doing writing for the academic purpose, so it is focused on describing

something in detail.

Beside that, in order to deliver the expression of the ideas, there are six general types of

purpose. Each type of the purposes focuses on one of the parts of the communication model.

1. Writer: Expressive purposes

This type of writing does not take the reader into consideration; instead it focuses on the

wirter‘s feeling, experience, and needs. Expresisve writing may take the form poetry,

journals, letters, and especially, free writing.

2. Reader: Conative purposes

Conative writing quests to affect the reader. Conative writing may take about any form

so long as its intention to persuade the reader or affect the reader emotionally.

3. Context: Informative purposes

Informative writing refers to something external to the writing itself with the purpose of

informing the reader.

4. Message: Poetic purposes

Poetic (or literary or stylistic) purposes focus on the message itself—on its language, on

the way the elements of language are used, on structure and pattern both on the level of

phrase and of the overall composition.

5. Contact: Phatic purposes

Phatic language (and nonverbal communication) establishes and maintains contacts

between speakers or between writer and reader. Phatic purposes are not significant in

most writing. The use of greetings and closings in letters is one example of phatic

purposes in writing

6. Code: Metalinguistic purposes

Comments on a piece of writing are metalinguistic. If a student attaches a note to an

essay to explain why the essay is late, the note is metalinguistic in relation to the essay.

An author's preface to a book is another example of metalinguistic purposes in writing.

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After defining some review about writing above, it can be concluded that writing is

very important in expressing someone‘s ideas, it is also supported by selecting vocabulary

properly. Coady and Huckin (1998: 5) state that vocabulary is central to language and critical

importance to the typical language learner. Linse (2006: 121) says vocabulary is the

collection of words that an individual knows. Furthermore, Read (2000: 16) says that

vocabulary knowledge involves knowing the meanings of words and therefore the purpose of

a vocabulary test is to find out whether the learners can match each word with a synonym, a

dictionary-type definition or an equivalent word in their own language. It is explained that

vocabulary is a central language that includes collection of words involving the meaning of

words.

Vocabulary may also be defined as knowing a word. Richards in Read (2000: 25)

states that the other seven assumptions cover various aspects of what is meant by knowing a

word:

a. Knowing a word means knowing the degree of probability of encountering that word in

speech or print. For many words we also know the sort of words most likely to be found

associated with the word.

b. Knowing a word implies knowing the limitations on the use of the word according to

variations of function and situation.

c. Knowing a word means knowing the syntactic behavior associated with the word

d. Knowing a word entails knowledge of underlying form of a word and the derivations that

can be made from it.

e. Knowing a word entails knowledge of the network of associations between that word and

the other words in language

f. Knowing a word means knowing the semantic value of a word

g. Knowing a word means knowing many of the different meanings associated with a word

Another description about vocabulary beside the seven assumptions is that vocabulary

is one of the language elements which are very important in learning a language. Cameron

(2001: 137) is of the opinion that vocabulary knowledge is extremely important: (a) when a

written word is being ‗sounded out‘ or built up from its component letter or morpheme

sounds, knowing the word already will speed up recognition, and (b) when sentence is being

read, known words will be easier to hold in short-term memory as meaning is built up. In

addition, Dellar and Hocking in Thornburry (2002:13) say:

“if you spend most of your time studying grammar, your English will not improve very much.

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You will see the most improvement if you learn more words and expressions. You can say

very little with grammar, but you can say almost anything with words.”

This statement above, do not to underestimate grammar; however, it shows the

importance of vocabulary mastery in English Learning. Also according to Raimes in Nation

(2008: 84) also stresses the need for an adequate vocabulary if learners are going to generate,

develop, and present ideas in their writing. Without an adequate vocabulary, the idea may be

not presented clearly. Furthermore, Nation (2008: 83) states:

―With writing however, learners need to extend their productive vocabulary to include

the specialized vocabulary of their areas of study and interest. In academic settings,

writing is most often used as the form of assessment and learners need to be able to

show their knowledge of the field through the use of the specialized vocabulary.‖

This explanation is to strengthen that vocabulary mastery is important in language

communication and important in developing of one‘s ideas. To build the paragraph in

writing, it needs one‘s vocabulary mastery. Vocabulary also has components, since

vocabulary is related to a word or word knowledge, the components of word knowledge are

also the components of vocabulary.

As stated Nation in Read (2000: 26) that components of word knowledge are:

1. Form

In this components, are related to spoken form and written form. How the words

pronounced, what the word sound likes, how the words written and spelled.

2. Position

It is about grammatical patterns and collocation. In what patterns the words occured, in

what patterns that words must be used, what types of words can be expected before and

after the words, and what types of words must be used.

3. Function

It dealings with the frequency and appropriateness. How the words is common, how

often the words are used, where this word is expected meet, and where the words can be

used.

4. Meaning

It is about the concepts and associations. The meaning of the words and the express

meaning of the words.

Furthermore, stated in Penny Ur (1998: 60-62) the elements that needs to be taught in

teaching vocabulary, they are:

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1. Form: Pronunciation and Spelling

2. Grammar

3. Collocation

4. Aspect of meaning

5. Word formation

From the explanation above, it can be concluded that vocabulary mastery means

complete knowledge or great skill of a list of English words that includes the meaning of

words, spelling, pronunciation, and the use of words in right context.

Beside vocabulary, another factors that influence good ability in writing is interest.

According to Hazin (2004: 365) interest means attention, pleasure, and tendency. On the

other hand, interest means tendency and higher enthusiasm or pretension about something

(Burhanudin dan Esa, 2009: 24). Shaleh and Wahab (2011: 263) defines interest as a

tendency to give attention and action to someone, activity, or situation which are an object of

its interest happily.

From the explanation above, interest is tendency of mood‘s someone to do something

without forcing. Someone will be known his or her interest if there is tendency to be

interested to an object whether he or she is happy or unhappy, so it results a respond to

something which he or she likes.

To reach the success in learning, student need to know learning interest. If his or her

interest has not developed yet, it can be done by some alternative ways to develop it. Interest

is constant tendency to pay attention and do something. Activity which is interested by

someone will be paid attention continually and happily. So, interest is different from

attention, because attention is temporary (it is not for a long time) and it is not certain

followed by pleasure, while interest is always followed by pleasure and there is satisfying.

Based on essence of interest above, it can be concluded that basic matters in definition of

interest such as:

1. There is pleasure feeling from self which gives attention to the certain object.

2. There is like to the certain object.

3. There is activity or object which is chosen.

4. There is tendency to try more active.

5. The object or activity is viewed valuable in life.

6. It tends to guide or influence to behavior of individual.

Interest has an important role and it is an important factor in learning process, so it

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will influence their writing. Interest is as impetus of someone to do something which he or

she faces so it also determines the result of activity of someone. Interest cannot be separated

from fulfillment which emerges satisfied of himself. It also has indicators, there are pleasure,

attention, attitude, fulfillment.

1. Pleasure

A student has pleasure of English, so she or he will always learn English happily. He or

she is not forced. By pleasure to English, the English interests will arise, so the result of

English learning will be better. On the contrary, without pleasure to English, the English

interests will not arise, so the result of English learning will be worse.

2. Attention

Attention is the concentration or activity of our souls towards observation,

understanding, and so on by ignoring the others. Student who is interested in English will

pay attention more to English. He/she will focuse in English learning.

3. Attitude

Someone who is interested in an object will utter the positive attitude to the object.

Example, student who is interested in English will utter the positive attitude in his or her

learning; he will be enthusiastic, active, and creative.

4. Fulfillment

Interest will be appeared if someone feel fulfillment by following the activity. She or he

feels that the activity is benefit.

Beside indicators, interest also has some factors that influence, they are stated in

Nurhidayati (2006: 14) said there are many factors that influence students‘ interest such as:

motivation, learning, learning materials and teachers, families, their friends, environments,

aspires, talents, hobbies, mass media, and facilities.

In a certain activity, it has a purpose to be reached. By knowing the purpose of

activity, it will raise the interest. Children will have interest to study, if the learning situation

is interesting, such as it is not noisy, the place is tidy, the tools are complete, it is light, etc.

Physical and spiritual conditions are also kept because if they are unwell, they will influence

and disappear the interest. To raise students‘ interest to English in English learning, the

teacher‘s role is needed. The efforts that can be done by teacher to raise students‘ interest to

English are:

1. Building the intimate relationship with students, but the teacher does not behave like

teenagers.

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2. Explaining the benefits of English learning.

3. Providing the material of lesson which is not difficult, but is not also too easy.

4. Using the tools of lesson which support English learning, and keeping the discipline of

class.

5. Showing the enthusiasm in English teaching.

6. Having variation in English teaching, but don‘t often change the teaching method,

because it can make student confused.

7. Appreciating the result of students‘ effort.

8. Having high spirit and interest to teach English.

9. Having good performance.

From the all of description above, it can be arranged the rationale between vocabulary

mastery, English Interest and writing ability. Vocabulary is teh foundation in skill of English.

There is vocabulary in listening, writing, speaking, and reading skills. Vocabulary has some

kinds of elements and role that is important to be taught. Students must master the

vocabulary. Vocabulary mastery can influence writing ability. Writing is the process of

gathering and ordering ideas, information, or experiences, then forming them into visible

letters or characters in a conventional manner include: correct grammar and structure,

vocabulary choice, organization of ideas, spelling, punctuation, cohesion, and coherent. It

needs to be planned and organized. Without plan and organization, the ideas will be difficult

to render. Another factors that influence writing is interest, Interest is a very important factor

because interest has an important role to determine in doing some activities. A student who

has interest will study happily and he or she does not feel hard, so he or she can create good

writing. Therefore, the researcher assumes that there is a significant correlation between

English interest and Writing ability.

RESEARCH METHOD

The objective of the research is to observe whether or not there is a positive relationship

between vocabulary mastery, students‘ English interest toward writing ability both partially

and simultaneously. This research used correlation reasearch method. Correlation research is

collection of data to determine whether or to what degree a relationship exists between two or

more variables.

This research has two kinds of variables, independent and dependent variable. The

independent variables are student‘s English interest (X1) and vocabulary mastery (X2), while

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Writing Ability (Y)

Vocabulary Mastery (X2)

English Interest (X1)

the dependent variable is writing ability (Y), it is design in this figure 1.

Figure 1

the relationship of three variables

From the figure 1 above, the researcher formulates three hypotheses stating that there is

a positive correlation between: (1) vocabulary mastery and writing ability, (2) students‘

English Interest and writing ability, and (3) vocabulary mastery and students‘ English interest

simultaneously and writing ability. Afterwards, the researcher also formulates the statistical

hypotheses as follows:

1. Ho : = 0 Ha : > 0

2. Ho : = 0 Ha : > 0

3. Ho : Ry12 = 0 Ha : Ry12 > 0

This research is carried out for the TOEFL class students of Primary School Teacher

and Education Study Program, takes palce in STKIP Muhammadiyah Bangka Belitung. The

population in this research is the all of the two TOEFL class students of Primary School

Teacher and Education Study Program of STKIP Muhammadiyah Bangka Belitung, taken 30

students as sample by random sampling. To collect the data, the researcher used test in the

form of mutiple choice for vocabulary data, and essay test for writing data, and used

questionnaire for English interest data. After collecting the data the next step is analyzing

them to know whether there is or not a significant correlation between vocabulary mastery

and writing ability, students‘ English interest and writing ability, and between vocabulary

mastery, students‘ English interest simultaneously and writing ability.

The researcher tests the hypothesis using Product Moment and Multiple Linear

Regression Formula. Product Moment Formula is used to describe the strength of

relationship between two variables (single correlation), while Multiple Linear Regression is

used to describe the strength between several independents variables and one dependent

variable (multiple correlation). Before entering Linear Regression Analysis, there is major

pre-requirement analysis for the data. They are normality test using Lilliefors formula,

linearity and significance using Anova test. Before taking the data, the instruments are tried

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out to know the validity, reliability, and readability. In this study, the writer used content

validity for writing test and English interest questionnaire. They have content validity since

the instrument is based on blueprint, blueprint is based on construct, and construct is based on

theories. While, for writing instrument, it is tested in the tryout and the coclusion that the

writing test order is understandable. The reliability of the vocabulary mastery test is measured

by Alpha Cronbach technique, defines the result that vocabulary mastery instrument has high

reliability.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

There are two measurements in this research, first is descriptive data. The data analyzed are

the result of the test and questionnaire. The descriptive statistics among three variables are: 1)

for writing score, the mean score is 87.20; 2) for English interest, the mean score is 14.73; the

last is 3) vocabulary mastery, the mean score of vocabulary mastery is 80.70. And the second

is hypotheses testing.

Before testing the hypotheses, there are pre-requirement tests, they are normality,

linearity, and significance data. Normality test is done to find out whether the population is in

normal distribution or not. In this research, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is used to test

normality. Based on the result of normality test, it can be concluded that the sample is in

normal distribution because the significance value (0.854) is greater than 0.05. Beside

normality test, linearity test is also used by the writer for the pre-requirement analysis. From

the computation of linear regression Y = 66.524 + 1.403X1, it is obtained that Fo = 11.646.

This means that F observation is greater than F table (Fo = 11.646 > Ft = 4.20); so it can be

said that regression is significant. Because Fo is lower than Ft (Fo = 0.571 < Ft = 2.55), the

regression is linear. While, computation of linear regression Y = 65.903 + 1.063X2, it is

obtained that Fo = 13.215. This means that F observation is greater than F table (Fo = 13.215

> 4.20); so it can be said that regression is significant. Because F observation is lower than F

table (Fo = 1.063 < Ft = 2.41), the regression is linear.

The first hypothesis said that the correlation between students‘ English interest and

writing ability. From the simple correlation computation of X1 and Y, the coefficient of

correlation is rx1y = 0. 542. Then, this value is compared to r table at significance level (α) =

0.05 for N = 30. It is found that r table is 0.361, so rx is higher than rt. From the computation,

it is also known that the coefficient of correlation between students‘ English interest (X1) and

writing ability (Y) is to = 2.952. For N-2 = 28 and α = 0.05, the obtained t-value is greater

Iful Rahmawati Mega


than t-table (to=2.952 > tt=2.048). It means that the correlation is significant; so, there is a

positive correlation between students‘ English interest (X1) and writing ability (Y).

The second hypothesis stated about the correlation between vocabulary mastery and

writing ability. Based on the result of simple correlation computation, the correlation

coefficient of X2 and Y is rx2y = 0.566 and comapred to r table found 0.361; means that r

observation is higher than r table. From the computation, it is also known that the coefficient

of correlation between vocabulary mastery (X2) and writing ability (Y) is to = 3.183. For N-2

= 28 and α = 0.05, the obtained t-value is greater than t-table (to=3.183 > tt=2.048). It means

that the correlation is significant; so, there is a positive correlation between vocabulary

mastery (X2) and writing ability (Y).

The third hypothesis observe the correlation between students‘ English interest (X1)

and vocabulary mastery (X2) simultaneously and writing ability (Y). After being calculated

by multiple linear regressions, it is found that the coefficient of a1, a2, and a0 are 1.093; 0.212;

and 53.983. Therefore, the multiple regression equation of Y on X1 and X2 becomes:

Y = 53,983 + 1.093X1 + 0.212X2

The testing of the significance of the correlation coefficient result for F observation is

12.787. This value is compared to F table at 5 % significance level and degree of freedom

(df) 2 to 27 is 3.35. It is obvious that F observation is greater than F table (12.787 > 3.35). It

means that F observation is significant. So, it can be stated that the regression equation is also

significant.

From the multiple correlation analysis of X1 and X2 with Y, the writer finds that the

coefficient of correlation (Ry.12) is 0.697. The significance testing of this coefficient in F

observation is 12.787 with df = 2 : 27 and α = .05; admittedly, the F observation is

significant, so that Ry.12 = 0.697 is also significant.

Thus, the hypothesis stating that there is positive correlation between students‘

English interest, vocabulary mastery, and writing ability is accepted. The conclusion is that

there is positive correlation between students‘ English interest and vocabulary mastery

simultaneously and writing ability.

After measuring all of the hypotheses, there are some discussion dealing with the

contribution of each variables. A positive correlation means that the increase of students‘

English interest and vocabulary mastery is followed by the increase of writing ability. This

kind of correlation creates an assumption that writing ability can be regressed, explained, and

Iful Rahmawati Mega


predicted from students‘ English interest and vocabulary mastery. Considering that students‘

English interest and vocabulary mastery have significant role in the writing ability, the

teacher should create the process of learning English which can increase the students‘

vocabulary mastery and maintain the students‘ interest in English. As a result, it gives

contribution for students‘ English writing ability.

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

From the result of the measurement, there can be concluded that; first, there is a positive

correlation between students‘ English interest and writing ability of the TOEFL Class

students (rx1y = 0.542 > rt = 0.361). It means that the increase of student‘s English Interest will

be followed by the increase of student‘s writing ability. It also means that the student‘s

English interest has contribution to their writing ability. Second, there is a positive correlation

between vocabulary mastery and writing ability of the TOEFL Class students (rx2y = 0.566 >

rt = 0.361). It means that the increase of student‘s vocabulary mastery will be followed by the

increase of student‘s writing ability. It also means that the student‘s vocabulary mastery has

contribution to their writing abilty. Third, there is positive correlation between students‘

English interest, and vocabulary mastery simultaneously writing ability of the TOEFL class

students (Ry.12 = 0.697 and F0 = 12.787 > Ft = 3.35). It means that the increase of student‘s

vocabulary and student‘s English interest will be followed by the increase of student‘s

writing ability. It also means that the student‘s English vocabulary mastery and student‘s

English interest have contribution to their writing ability.

Based on the research finding, it has been concluded that there is positive relationship

between students‘ English interest, vocabulary mastery simultaneously and writing ability. It

implies that students‘ English interest and vocabulary mastery are important variables for

writing ability. The contribution of both students‘ English interest and vocabulary mastery for

writing ability is 48.6%. It means that 48.6% variance of writing ability is influenced by

students‘ English interest and vocabulary mastery while the other 51.4% is contributed by

other factors. Therefore, the two variables cannot be neglected in the effort of improving

writing ability.

Interest is an important factor for students who want to get good English especially in

writing in English. It makes students feel enjoy in learning English. Besides that, the students

should have good vocabulary mastery. When students want to create good writing in English,

they should improve their vocabulary mastery and interest in English. From those findings

Iful Rahmawati Mega


and conclusion, it is suggested as follows:

How to improve vocabulary so it can increase student‘s English achievement:

1. Teacher may give colorful pictures about English vocabulary, and the students find the

meaning and try to pronouncing.

2. Teacher may use some games related to vocabulary.

3. Teacher may use funny story; like fairy tale, legend, diary, etc. the students try to find the

vocabulary in that story and try to find the meaning.

4. Teacher may use English song, video or movie, etc.

To raise students‘ English interest in English learning, the teacher‘s role is needed.

The efforts that can be done by teacher to raise students‘ interest to English are:

1. Building the intimate relationship with students, but the teacher does not behave like

teenagers.

2. Explaining the benefits of English learning.

3. Having variation and using the tools of lesson which support English learning, and

keeping the discipline of class.

4. Appreciating the result of students‘ effort or giving reward.

5. Having high spirit, good performance and interest to teach English.

Teachers may use some of procedures above to find new vocabularies and they should

make the students interested in English lesson. So, the students will pay attention and always

try to master their English vocabulary.

Iful Rahmawati Mega


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